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Rays place ill Peralta on DL, recall Beliveau

7/2/14: Joel Peralta pitches a scoreless frame vs. the Yankees, tying him with Esteban Yan for the most appearances by a Rays pitcher

By Alex Halsted
/
MLB.com |

ST. LOUIS -- Rays reliever Joel Peralta was placed on the disabled list Tuesday as he continues to battle joint pain and aches stemming from a mosquito bite.

Peralta, who last pitched July 12, went home to the Dominican Republic during the All-Star break and came down with a fever and aches when the team arrived in Minnesota to begin the season's second half Friday. The symptoms were comparable to the Chikungunya virus, which includes joint pain, headaches and a fever.

"He's ill," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "Apparently it was a mosquito bite from what I understand. He was hurting, man. He had a fever, and his joints were achy and all the different things that if you go to WebMD you're going to see all the particular pitfalls about it."

Maddon said Peralta wasn't going to be available to return by Wednesday in St. Louis, so the team placed him on the disabled list and recalled Jeff Beliveau, who joined the club Tuesday for his fifth stint in the Majors this season.

Beliveau, a left-hander, has thrown only two innings in his previous four stints. He has a 1.50 ERA in 36 innings with Triple-A Durham.

"If someone goes down, I'm the guy they call up," Beliveau said. "I keep a bag packed. I literally had my bag packed from my last road trip in Buffalo. I was like, 'You know what, I'm not going to unpack it into my drawers.' I threw a few more shirts in there today, shut it and I was good to go."

How long Beliveau's stint will be this time remains uncertain. Peralta is eligible to return from the disabled list Monday, but there is currently no timetable as the team waits for him to first get rid of the symptoms before regaining his strength.

Peralta, who is 2-3 with a 4.15 ERA in 43 appearances this season, said in an interview Monday the virus is supposed to last one week.

"He was starting to feel a little bit better, but we talked about his joints [being] achy and he was really lethargic and just had nothing," Maddon said. "I think you just have to wait for that to run its course. For right now, we just know he's out and I can't tell you exactly how long."

Alex Halsted is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.